Itzy Bitzy Teeny Weeny

Here is the modest little swimsuit that I originally picked out for SB to wear this summer. She looks adorable in it and it's functional too-- the swim diaper is built in!

Here, you can see the itzy bitzy bikini that her great grandmother bought her as a birthday gift. Not as modest, huh! Well, it's too cute for words, so she will get to wear it. But the one piece will still be the go-to suit most of the time! :)

A Cure for a Case of the Grumps



Sara Beth and I were both in a weird mood today. I'm sure it had something to do with getting to bed later than usual last night. So, after a long morning of trudging through with each other, I decided to get out of the house. I packed our lunches, loaded SB in the stroller, and we headed to the park for a picnic. I love living so close to the park! It's literally just a 5 minute walk from our house. We set up the blanket underneath "our" tree-- the same place we hung out together last summer when she was just a baby. After we filled our bellies, we walked all over the place. SB kept trying to jump into the drainage ditch and eat all of the sticks, rocks, and flowers (no surprise there). That little trip really turned our moods around. I guess sometimes you just need to climb out of your yuckiness and get out there and do something!

Here she is last summer under our tree at the park, sleeping the day away.

Here she is today, under the same tree, at almost 13 months old, being too big for her britches. She stole my apple!

And my water bottle!

 She's taking off on her own.

 Look at those big teeth!

 I told you she tried to eat the sticks.

 My heart!

"Sconamon" Rolls

I'm not sure if that is the proper way to spell it, but I did my best to combine scone and cinnamon into a new word. This was Adam's delicious creation this morning! I never want another cinnamon roll again! It's "sconamons" for me from now on! OK, I might be exaggerating a bit, but they were so yummy. It's like the texture of a scone combined with the flavor of a cinnamon roll-- all buttery, spicy, and nutty. Mmmmmmm!!

The Big "B"-day Party! (Part 2)

     I am so proud of the little bubble outfit that I made for Sara Beth to wear at her party! It's just a simple pattern, but I appliqued a cute little bird on the front, added bows to the legs, and even made a hair bow to match. She looked so pretty in it. It was even good for playing too (which is important, you know). I was one proud mama!

SB in her B-day bubble

     After all the guests had their fill of the outside activities and yummy food, we headed inside to do the traditional birthday singing and cake smashing. I expected to see SB with cake all over her face and hands, but that's not exactly how it went. We put on her birthday bib and hat, lit the candle, and started singing, "Happy Birthday to you. . . . " She seemed to be enjoying hearing us all sing to her. When it was time to blow out the candle, she reached for the flame. Adam blew it out as fast as he could, but SB grabbed the wick the instant that the flame went out. It was still blazing hot, so she burned (pretty badly) her finger. Que the song: "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!" She was hysterical for a few minutes and never really took to the cake after that trauma. We tried to stick her hand in the icing and put a little cake in her mouth, but she wasn't interested at all. Poor thing! Check out the sequence of events in the picture collage below.

Here, Papaw. You can have the cake instead!

I have to give big thanks to everyone that helped me pull this party off. I'm sure I'll forget somebody, but here's my attempt. Thank you. . .

• Adam-- for designing the invitations, building the barrels and signs, climbing up into tall trees to hang my paper pompoms and lanterns, and for everything else you did!
• Mom-- for making those delicious nests, picking up the cake, and helping me set everything up!
• Mrs. Jonell-- for the gorgeous flower arrangements, allowing us to use your home, washing all those dishes, decorating her birthday wreath, and blowing up the balloons!
• Mr. David-- for hauling all my stuff back and forth and for grilling the burgers!
• Daddy-- for helping Mr. David grill the burgers!
• Carol-- for being the party photographer! You got some really good shots!
• Diana and Stephanie-- for letting me borrow all your party stuff!
• All our family and friends-- for coming out to celebrate our little girl on her first birthday. Thank you for the books and gifts that you gave to Sara Beth! But, most of all, thank you for being a part of our lives! We love you!

              

Here are a few links to some websites that I used for inspiration:

• The Tissue Paper Pompoms that adorned the trees:  http://www.partyblog.mygrafico.com/diy-party-pom-poms/
• The Birthday Hat: http://www.tinysproutphoto.com/blog/2010/09/01/diy-birthday-hat/



The Big "B"-day Party! (Part 1)

     Sara Beth had a great first birthday party a couple weekends ago! Even though the weather was drizzly and overcast, I think everyone had a good time. I was just glad it never really rained. That would've been a disaster for this outdoor party. We celebrated at Adam's parents' house on Cross Lake. I'm so grateful they allowed us to take over their home for the weekend! It's beautiful out there! The party was "B" themed (as in the letter B). I did my best to have everything start with B, from the games to the food. The theme came about because we realized that all of Sara Beth's favorite things, and most of her words, start with B. Also, little birds have been a constant theme for her, from my baby shower, to her nursery, and now for her first birthday party. I think it came out really cute! See what you think. . .

I LOVE the invitations! Adam designed them and I wrote the wording. We must be a great team or something!

A fabulous cake by Kathy Cubley, adorable little edible nests made by my mom, and a few handmade touches by me. The pennant banner is made out of felt and ribbon. The birthday hat, which matched her outfit, is repurposed from scrap fabric, ribbon, ruffles, and a Christmas gift box. The SB pictures that hung from the chandelier were from her photo sessions with Nicole Spikes (newborn, 6 months, and 9 months).

The food, play areas, and my favorite part of the party-- a clothesline of pictures, one from each month of her sweet little life.

The Menu: 

Burgers, BBQ chips, Bowtie Pasta Salad, Berry Spinach Salad, Bean Salad (of the Mexican variety), Berry Kabobs, Baby Bites (little food for the kiddos), Beverages (sweet tea, pink lemonade, and water), Birthday Cake, and Birds' Nests

By far, the most popular play area of the day-- Balls. We borrowed Tristen's ball pit and also had other balls to throw and roll around the yard.

The Blocks center--- SB and her cousin played hard after the party. We used some of SB's blocks from home and a wooden set that I found at a consignment store in town.

Ah, the Barrels! Our original idea was for box tunnels, but we didn't have any boxes. We did have these plastic barrels sitting in our backyard though. Adam did a fabulous job converting them into fun tunnels for the party!

To round out the "B" activities, we had a little bounce house (once again borrowed from our friend Tristen) and a bubble table. My attempt at homemade bubble solution was not very successful, so there weren't too many bubbles to be had. It was really messy too! I had pipe cleaners and cookie cutters so the kids could make their own bubble wands. A good idea, in theory. . .

Happy 1st Birthday, Sara Beth!

     Wow! I really can't believe how fast this first year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday that we were holding Sara Beth in our arms for the first time and now she is one. I was never really sure that I would be a good mother. I mean, I loved kids and worked well with little ones, but babies just never were my thing. Then God allowed me the privilege to be Sara Beth's mama and every day has been amazing since then!
     I am in awe of how a woman's body works so perfectly for her baby. She grows that baby inside of her belly for 9 months (or longer in my case), its only nourishment coming from her body. Then, after being born, that baby still gets exactly what it needs from mama's body. It has been such an honor to be able to breastfeed Sara Beth for this year. For the first 6.5 months of her life, all she had was my milk and still she grew strong and beautiful. I know that nursing is not possible for every mother, but I am so glad that God allowed it to work out for us!
     Sara Beth has grown into such a precious little girl. She's smart, funny, and cute, cute, cute! At her 12 month check-up with Dr. Ritch she weighed 19 pounds, 13 ounces and was 30 inches long. That puts her in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Everything else looked good too. We are blessed beyond measure!
At one year old, Sara Beth:

• still loves books. Among her favorites right now are The Belly Button Book, Mr. Brown Can Moo, and any book with fuzzy parts to rub or real photographs.
• can identify her head, eyes, nose, hair, feet, and her favorite of all. . . her bebo (that's a belly button in case you didn't know).
• is officially walking now! She can also stand independently for a long time and even clap, pick up a ball, and sway from side to side while standing up.
• has lots of new words to use: yay, no, bowl, thank you, whoa, berry, cracker, cheese, more, Papaw, Nana/Nonni (sometimes), uh oh, bebo, and she is working on Opa and diaper. She can say each separate syllable, but when she tries to put it together it becomes baba.
• can tell you the sound that each of these animals makes: dog, cat, elephant, and duck.
• finally has 2 top teeth to help her chew. They are spread far apart (a trait that I passed along), but they get the job done. We try to remember to brush them every day. She even got a toothbrush and toothpaste in her Easter basket.
• eats everything! She's not a huge fan of beef or baked goods (cake, pancakes, waffles), but I'm sure that will change. She loves to take a bite off of a bigger piece of food. I think it makes her feel like a big girl. We introduced strawberries this month and she loves them!
• has a head full of hair. She never did go completely bald, but she has a lot of hair now. You can barely tell that we gave her a haircut last month.
• has a fairly regular schedule, but all that will change when we start weaning this week. Right now she sleeps 11 hours at night (8pm-7am), takes 2 naps most days, and nurses 4 times along with eating solid food at the table with us.
• had a wonderful birthday party last weekend! More to come about the party. . .
  
  

  

  Celebrating Daddy's birthday on April 5



Park fun



Smelling the flowers with Nana on Easter Sunday



Loving on Nonni at her first birthday party



At Tristen's party, making the elephant noise

An "Egg"cellent Easter

It was a beautiful day outside on Easter Sunday this year. First, our family joined us for the Easter worship service at church. Then, we headed over to my parents' house for a delicious lunch and some egg hunting (sort of). Mostly, Sara Beth just sat in the grass and played with the eggs, but she certainly had fun doing it. Later that afternoon, we went to Adam's parents' house. Adam's brother, Travis, his wife, Carie, and their little boy, Charlie joined us too. Sara Beth really stepped up her egg hunting skills for the second round of egg hunting. She had fun walking over to the eggs and putting them in the basket. Putting something IN the basket is a feat in itself! Usually, she just takes things out. All in all, it was a wonderful day!

At Nana and Papaw's house

Roly Poly lesson

At Nonni and Opa's house

My favorite picture of the day

Cousin Charlie

Nana and Papaw

Nonni and Opa

Just us!